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The Donkey Sanctuary was founded in 1969 by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, MBE. She dedicated her life to champion donkeys, and it is through her devotion that the Sanctuary grew to be the international charity it is today.

Sadly Dr Svendsen passed away in 2011 but her memory lives on in our work, as does her eternal motto that, in everything we do, donkeys will always come first, second and third.

The Donkey Sanctuary was founded as a charity in 1969, by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen MBE. She dedicated her life to champion donkeys, and it is only through her amazing devotion that the Sanctuary grew to the international charity it is today. Dr Svendsen’s impact on the lives of thousands of children assisted by riding therapy, as well as millions of donkeys and the communities that rely on them for their own survival, cannot be measured.

There are a number of reasons why 2013 was such a great year for The Donkey Sanctuary and it sets the scene for us to aim for even greater achievements in the years to come. First and foremost I want to give a really big thank you to all of our supporters and sponsors for their superb support in 2013 which resulted in us achieving our highest ever income during a single year. This despite only beginning to see positive shoots of recovery in the economy towards the end of the year, following economic hardship that affected so much of the world over the last six years.

The Donkey Sanctuary’s Trustees Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2013 have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice 2005 (SORP).

The financial performance of The Donkey Sanctuary and its subsidiary undertakings during the year was extremely encouraging and accorded with the Trustees’ expectations. The position at the end of the year is regarded as very positive and provides a robust base from which we can extend our impact by working towards the objectives of our new five year Strategic Plan.